Don't Let Health Insurance Intimidate You, Be Confident With These Tips.

Too many people take the risk of not having good health insurance just because they think it is too much trouble to find the information that could help them get the right policy. Putting yourself at risk for high medical bills is not necessary if you have the powerful and practical tips below.

Before you fill a prescription to be covered by your health insurance, check to see if there's a less-expensive generic program. Many large pharmacy chains and discount stores with pharmacies offer low-cost generics of common drugs. Depending on your coverage, it may actually be cheaper to use that discount than to submit your prescription claim to your insurance.

When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, be sure to decide the type of plan that best suits your needs. Doing so, you will help to find the best out of pocket cost versus total coverage. PPO, HMO, and POS are the three most common types of plans. Check with your company to see which best suits you.

One great way that you can help drop your monthly insurance premiums is to opt to pay a higher deductible rate. By paying a higher rate, this means that you are putting up more money on your end when you get sick. The health insurance company will reward you by making sure to lower your monthly payments.

It is important that you take price into consideration when looking for medical insurance. Although having health insurance is very important, you do not want to end up losing it because you cannot afford the premiums. If a potential insurance company's premiums seem too high, shop around for another one. You can even try to negotiate a lower price with your preferred company.

Find out what the pre-existing condition limitations are before you cancel your current health insurance policy to enroll in another. You may find that any illnesses or disabilities that you have may not be covered if you change to a new provider. Check with your State Insurance Department to find additional information on insurances that will cover those pre-existing conditions.

When shopping around for a great healthcare policy, always make sure that you're comparing policies online. You can receive multiple quotes from multiple providers, so take your time and compare them all to see where you can save money without losing out on great coverage options. A few minutes to compare, can save you some big money.

Be aware that certain health insurance companies will not give you insurance if you have serious pre-existing conditions. This is because they look at you as a liability. If this happens, search the internet or ask family friends if they know of a health insurance company that will provide you with insurance.

When shopping for health insurance, consider your need for maternity coverage. Maternity coverage is often expensive and leaving it off can save you thousands. Even if you are planning to add to your family, consider your desire to use a birth center or participate in a telemedicine consultation home birth. These options might not be covered by your policy, even with maternity coverage, so the extra premium paid may be wasted.

Being aware of laws applicable to health insurers, is vital to protecting yourself and your coverage. Most of the time, an insurance company cannot cancel coverage or deny payment because of a clerical error on your part, including during the application process. Unfortunately, paperwork and red-tape are part of the health insurance process, but knowing your rights up front, enables you to plow through it with greater confidence.

Do a bit of math when checking out a policy. Many times you get what you pay for, but sometimes that isn't true. Try not to pay for a plan that does not provide a type of coverage that another will for the same exact price. Premiums, deductibles, and co-pays need to be added to everything before making a decision. If a plan seems too good to be true, it most likely is.

Before traveling overseas, check to see if your health insurance policy will cover you. Many policies do not cover you in other countries and therefore, most doctors will expect a cash payment when service is rendered. Purchasing a separate policy for travel can sometimes be a good idea. Discuss it with your insurance agent.

Health insurance is very expensive, and the costs are increasing every year. One way that you may be able to save money on health insurance costs is to start living a healthy lifestyle. A large number of employers are offering financial incentives to get their employees to stay healthy. If you take part in your employer's wellness program, you may be able to save money on your health insurance premium costs.

Research a potential insurance company's reputation. Even if you have been quoted an attractive rate, it is important to thoroughly look into an insurance company before signing on with them. Find out if they are in good financial standing, and not in danger of bankruptcy. Check reviews as well, as some companies have become known for dropping customers when they are in the most need and costing the insurance company the most money.

You should not hide any information, even if you think it might cause you to be denied. Your insurance company has access to a lot of information about your medical past: after asking you questions, they will check everything. If they do not notice any inconsistencies at first, but then later they realize that you were dishonest, your enrollment will be canceled.

See if your doctor would be interested in bartering services with you, should you possess a skill that could benefit the doctor. She was able to free herself of headaches, and the doctor received a website.

You need to belong to some kind of group or association to have access to cheap health insurance. Perhaps you can join a union related to your occupation, or an alumni association. Ask a representative from the group of association you are considering joining about the benefits. Make sure the health insurance they are affiliated with meets your needs.

Ask your local physician about your medical records before applying for health insurance. Many private health insurance providers will review your 10 year medical history before allowing you to purchase a policy, so make sure that your medical records are up-to-date and discuss any health issues that insurance companies might red flag with your physician.

Look out for health insurance polices that also offer eye and dental care converge. Some health plans now include this extra converge and these plans could save you a lot of money. Paying separately for dental procedures, lens, glasses, annual eye and dental checkups, etc. can really add up.

What you've read here should have given you the knowledge and confidence you need to make sound decisions when it comes to insurance. You can now make more informed health insurance decisions, choose wisely, save money and enjoy peace of mind.

 

People with disabilities left behind by telemedicine and other pandemic medical innovations

 

Divya Goel, a 35-year-old deaf-blind woman in Orlando, Florida, has had two telemedicine doctors' appointments during the pandemic. Each time, she was denied an interpreter.

Her doctors told her she would have to get insurance to pay for an interpreter, which is incorrect: Under federal law, it is the physician's responsibility to provide one.

Goel's mother stepped in to interpret instead. But her signing is limited, so Goel, who has only some vision, is not sure her mother fully conveyed what the doctors said. Goel worries about the medical ramifications — a wrong medicine or treatment — if something got lost in translation.

"It's really, really hard to get real information, and so I feel very stuck in my situation," she signed through an interpreter.

Pandemic-fueled shortages of home health aides strand patients without care

Pandemic-fueled shortages of home health aides strand patients without care

Telemedicine, teleworking, rapid tests, virtual school, and vaccine drive-throughs have become part of Americans' routines as they enter Year 3 of life amid Covid-19. But as innovators have raced to make living in a pandemic world safer, some people with disabilities have been left behind.

Those with a physical disability may find the at-home Covid tests that allow reentry into society hard to perform. Those with limited vision may not be able to read the small print on the instructions, while blind people cannot see the results. The American Council of the Blind is engaged in litigation against the two dominant medical testing companies, Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, over touch-screen check-in kiosks at their testing locations.

Sometimes the obstacles are basic logistics. "If you're blind or low-vision and you live alone, you don't have a car," said Sheila Young, president of the Florida Council of the Blind, pointing to the long lines of cars at drive-through testing and vaccination sites. "Who can afford an Uber or Lyft to sit in line for three hours?"

One in 4 adults in the US have some sort of disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though barriers for the disabled have long existed, the pandemic brings life-or-death stakes to such long-running inequities.

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QgeK7rJ6U0f66uVa86DUMnAFLjW3g40jFmTFcYD563w/edit?usp=sharing

 

Protect Yourself With Health Insurance

If you really want to know what stress is than you should try to live a few days without health insurance. You will begin to worry about every little cough or sniffle. Health insurance is one of those investments that just makes sense, both for yourself and for every member of your family.

Dental insurance can really help cut the cost on dental repairs. Your teeth are a very important part of your health, but a costly one for most people. Having dental insurance will help to cut the total cost of all your dental work so you can afford to have a healthy mouth.

When evaluating health insurance coverage, take the time to compare quotes on the type of plan you need. The costs associated with insurance will range widely between companies. Doing some homework on what is covered vs. cost of coverage can save a lot of money and time, should the need arise.

When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, be sure to always plan for the future. This will be beneficial to you in case of possible health issues that prevent you from holding a job, or getting laid off. Always be prepared, and know what your health coverage options are if you do not retain your job.

Get a copy of your health care plans drug formulary and make sure that any medication prescribed to you is on that list. Every insurance company has a different formulary that shows what they cover. The out of pocket cost of an uncovered prescription can be in the hundreds of dollars so make sure that you are covered.

All insurance plans are going to differ slightly, so the most important thing you can do is ask questions. Health insurance is nothing to play around with. If you do not get everything you absolutely need, you may be left footing the bill when you fall ill. That's going to be expensive and possibly even life threatening.

If you and your spouse are both eligible for health insurance through your individual workplaces, compare the two policies to see which one will benefit your family most. You may find that it is going to be cheaper to carry individual policies through your workplaces. Keep the surcharges that some companies charge for dependents when comparing the two.

Having health insurance when you are self-employed is sometimes very costly, but the good thing is that you can deduct your insurance premiums when you file your taxes. You can also deduct individual medical expenses when they start to exceed a certain portion of your adjusted gross yearly income.

When looking around for health insurance try finding a site that lets you compare all of the companies in your area side-by-side. You can then see how each company ranks against the others in each aspect and choose the one that best fits what it is that you need.

You need to get health insurance so that you are protected, in case anything happens. If you do not have health insurance and break an arm, you will have to pay for the medical bills, out of pocket. A visit to the emergency room can cost over $10,000. Most people cannot afford such a hefty bill and end up in extreme financial straits because they did not have health insurance.

When seeking pet health insurance, you should ask your vet for recommendations. Your vet can usually give you good ideas about the experiences of other patients pet-parents. Additionally, you should look for pet health insurance companies that provide lots of good testimonials and ask your friends about any experiences they have had with pet health insurance.

When considering a new health insurance policy, learn all you can about what a deductible is and how here it can affect your costs. Many policies have one. It's basically a set amount that you will have to pay out of pocket before your coverage starts and before the insurer has to share costs. They vary from policy to policy and they have ranges. Higher deductibles can sometimes clash with coverage that has a greater percentage, but not always.

If your health insurance is about to expire and you do not have a new plan, you should refer to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. If you can prove that you have applied for a new policy, this act guarantees you coverage until your new plan becomes effective by extending your previous coverage.

Many colleges and universities offer group health insurance policies, so if you aren't covered under your parents' policy, this can be a great way to get relatively cheap insurance. Many alumni organizations offer group insurance to graduates, so you can use this to cover you after your graduate from school and before you get employer insurance.

Health insurance is an important thing for every person to have. Hospital bills can be absurdly expensive for some treatments and can absolutely ravage a person's finances, especially in the case of serious diseases such as cancer. Similarly, hospitalizing a person who has been in a serious car crash can be extremely expensive. Health insurance cuts down the cost of treatment significantly.

When moving to a new state you need to find out if there are any laws where you now reside that might affect your health insurance coverage. For example, the age of your dependents may cause them to lose coverage on your insurance. Also, whether or not your child is enrolled in school could affect their coverage as well.

Current laws state that all children who are under 26 must continue to be permitted under your health insurance unless their employer offers them health benefits. Even adults who have a pre-existing condition that is chronic or potentially very expensive, like cancer, cannot be rejected when you add them to your plan.

As mentioned earlier, health insurance is something that everyone can find useful. It can be confusing to know which plan you should pick, but it is possible to make the task easier. The easiest method to understand insurance is to read information about various policy types and coverages. Use the advice in this article to help you find the perfect health insurance for your needs.

 

Telehealth and telemedicine for coronavirus: What it is and how to use it now

 

What is telemedicine?

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, telemedicine is defined as “the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance. A physician in one location uses a telecommunications infrastructure to deliver care to a patient at a distant site.”

Testa says his hospital is using telemedicine both within and outside the hospital to manage the influx of patients needing care. “We're using video visits inside of our hospitals, and inside of our emergency departments, to minimize exposure to our staff, as well as exposure to other patients who are immunocompromised,” he says.

How to use telemedicine

A good place to start is to check with your health care provider, provider system or hospital’s app for a telemedicine portal, download it and follow the prompts.

“We've been doing video visits for over a year and a half — we've already done about 15,000 of them,” says Testa. “What we've learned in interviewing our patients is that more often than not, they had plans to either go to their primary care doctor and it is off-hours, or they had planned to go to a brick-and-mortar urgent care. Virtual urgent care is just more convenient than those options.”

At NYU Langone, for example, Testa says these video visits are fully integrated into patients’ online health profiles, and visible to their primary care doctors who can easily see what labs or X-rays have been ordered.

If you don’t have a primary care doctor and prefer to use urgent care when you need it, virtual urgent care apps, like PlushCare, Doctor on Demand or MDLive, can give you virtual access to a doctor, 24/7.

Ryan McQuaid, CEO and co-founder of PlushCare, says that under normal circumstances, patients who use his telemedicine platform tend to use it as a primary care provider.

He says these patients usually fall into three buckets: They use telemedicine to manage ongoing conditions, like depression, diabetes or hypertension; everyday care issues like hair loss or birth control; and urgent care issues, like cold and flu, sinus infections or UTIs. And their patients aren’t just tech-forward millennials — McQuaid says elderly patients have begun to embrace telemedicine.

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZiSk2MOF17UdugnGNqOAojsLDrM0Qu-pLwshdGqch_M/edit?usp=sharing

 

Los Angeles clinic puts underprivileged community at greater risk of contracting coronavirus, health care workers say

 

The clinics serve an area where the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than double the national average, according to census data. Many patients live in multifamily homes or homeless shelters and have chronic medical conditions, compounding their chances of contracting and spreading the coronavirus, the eight professionals said. African Americans and Latinos have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"My fear is that once it hits this patient population, it will be the epicenter of L.A.," one of the professionals said.

When the coronavirus broke out, some of the professionals called patients to reschedule routine visits and refill prescriptions over the phone, but they were quickly reprimanded by management and told not to call their own patients, they said.

"This is the first place I've worked that as a provider I'm not given the autonomy to care for them [my patients] medically," one of them said after having encountered resistance to suggesting that patients with non-urgent needs be moved to telehealth visits.

"When you're suppressing the expertise, the knowledge, the morals, the morale of providers who are here to take care of an underserved people, you're almost just kind of re-oppressing them," the professional said.

 

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZiSk2MOF17UdugnGNqOAojsLDrM0Qu-pLwshdGqch_M/edit?usp=sharing



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What You Really Need To Know About Health Insurance

 

 

If you need help finding cheap health insurance quotes, look at our tips and learn how to get affordable health insurance that suits you best. Understanding how health insurance companies work is crucial when looking for the cheapest health insurance quotes. We will teach you how you can lower your premiums.

When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, be sure to not forget about possible favored doctors and if they will be included in your plan. This is especially important to consider with an OB/GYN, dentist, or long time family doctor. Sometimes it may be more important to pay more for a different plan than to abandon your favorite doctor.

The right medical insurance exam is one that does not take into consideration your past medical issues. There are plenty of old disorders that have been treated and cured, that do not have to be disclosed, if they are not an issue now. Make sure to get insurance from companies that look at your current health.

If you don't have health insurance or enough coverage to take care of your medical bills, some credit card companies have special plans specifically for health care. These cards can be used to pay your providers as needed and then you make monthly payments to the credit card company. Be sure to read the fine print, as some have introductory offers that may end before you pay off your debt.

Dental insurance is something that can prove to be very helpful. Buying dental insurance mean that when you need a cleaning or anything else done at the dentist, a percentage will be paid for. If you have kids, dental insurance is a must, because the price of going to the dentist can get very high.

Health insurance may not completely cover the cost of birth control or well-woman visits with your physician. An alternative to a regular gynecologist is Planned Parenthood, which offers exams, counseling and birth control on a sliding scale, meaning the amount you are charged is based on your ability to pay. County health clinics may also offer these services.

When shopping for health insurance, check to see if your favorite doctors - from general practitioners to specialists - are included in each provider's network. While some providers will allow you to see out-of-network physicians, you will often pay far more for those visits than you would for visits to in-network practitioners.

When getting dental insurance, do not get features that you do not think you are going to use. For instance, many dental plans are packed with additional discounts for prescription drug plans. If you feel like you do not need it, don't get it. It will just end up costing you more.

Having health insurance is important. Health care costs can be expensive, especially if you need an emergency surgery or are in an accident. Routine visits can also add up quickly. Health insurance gives you piece of mind, knowing that if something happens, your insurance will help cover the out-of-pocket expense.

Your employer may provide you with a list of health insurance providers to choose from. It is a good idea to ask your co-workers, but also doctors and nurses get more info you know, which one they have had the best experience with. It's not just what is written in your policy, but how it is implemented that matters!

Keep in mind that having health insurance costs more than just the amount of premiums that you pay every month. You may also be responsible for deductibles, co-insurance, co-payments. There are also procedures that may not covered by your insurance company and you will have to pay for those out of pocket.

Buying any kind of insurance, including health insurance, is all a numbers game. You want to balance the coverage you have very carefully. If you pay too much than you are losing money monthly, however if you pay too little you will be under covered when you need it most. Analyze both sides very carefully.

One of the most important tips to remember when selecting health insurance, or any insurance for that matter, is to shop around. Do not just rush into the first health insurance offer you see. Be sure to look over all offers and weigh the pros and cons of having each one.

Check your insurance rates versus your deductible rates. If you have a low health insurance payment, you are very likely to have a high deductible cost. Alternately, a high health insurance payment will usually reflect as low deductibles. You have to decide when you want to pay, monthly, or per visit.

Read the fine print in your health insurance policy before you sign. If you wait to read the small print until after signing, you are stuck with whatever is written there. Insurance companies do not want you to read fine print, as it typically contains the seediest element of their policy.

A vital health insurance tip is to never abandon your claim just because it has been initially denied. Filing an appeal is always an option, and it is important to note that the denial could simply have been the result of a data error in the insurer's computer system. By appealing unexpected denials, you have the power to receive every bit of coverage your policy is meant to provide.

If you are unemployed and have medical issues, you should subscribe to COBRA. COBRA allows you to stay on your employer's plan, even after they fire you. You will have to pay for the coverage: this is the right decision if your employer offers a plan you are satisfied with.

Create a plan of action for handling your deductible in the event of a health related incident. These situations are normally few and far between, yet you should set aside a few dollars each pay period until you reach your deductible amount. If it is not easy to save on your own, look at a health insurance savings plan which will be deducted from your paycheck.

Getting the right and best health insurance policy for your specific needs, and even that of your family, will first take understanding your needs and the ins and outs involved in health insurance. Don't give yourself grief over the process when you can learn more and easily find a policy that is optimal.